


I'm Glad I Didn't Die Before I Met You

by CrimsonBitch



Series: How to (Accidentally) Tame a Mad Dog [5]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Engagement, Fluff and Angst, Idiots in Love, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru Angst, Marriage Proposal, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:35:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29980896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrimsonBitch/pseuds/CrimsonBitch
Summary: Relationships are complicated and difficult and can drive you totally crazy sometimes, but at the end of the day one truth remains.When you really love someone, you want them by your side forever.*Title from "First Day Of My Life" by Bright Eyes*
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru, Nishinoya Yuu/Original Female Character(s), Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Series: How to (Accidentally) Tame a Mad Dog [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2141280
Comments: 20
Kudos: 106





	I'm Glad I Didn't Die Before I Met You

**Author's Note:**

> Ladies and gentleman... this is the moment you've been waiting for ;)

Kyoutani winced as he pressed the bruising already forming on his wrist, turning into the alley behind the pizza shop as he had done a thousand times before. Normally, his father’s grip on his wrist wouldn’t be strong enough to bother him, but the cast had only come off recently, and the limb was still weak. 

He checked his phone again, looking over Iwaizumi’s message from that morning. 

_8:00_ _at the apartment. Bring Yahaba_.

The blond grinned bitingly to himself. A week or so prior, Iwaizumi had asked Kyoutani for his opinion on the plan, and the boy was embarrassed to realize how excited he was. You can only spend so long around people before you become more or less invested in their happiness, he supposes. If having him and Yahaba there would make this night better, then why the hell not?

His father wasn’t pleased about him leaving that late (ironic considering the amount of times he had been kicked out), and the evidence was the ring of bruising on his wrist and the shadow of a bruise high on his cheekbone. 

Despite this, he was turning into Yahaba’s driveway and up to his door before he knew it. He only knocked twice before the brunette boy was swinging the door open, a grin on his face. 

“You ready?” Kyoutani asked gruffly, and Yahaba grabbed a wrapped gift, sticking it in his backpack before the two started down the road. 

“You got them a present?” Kyoutani asked, eying Yahaba’s backpack. 

“Sure. It’s pretty common to get people gifts when big shit like this happens.”

“Yeah?” Kyoutani mulled over this for a minute. “Put my name on it.”

“What? No!” 

“I didn’t know you were supposed to get gifts for this!”

“It’s a drawing, anyway. How the hell would I pretend you contributed to this?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Kyoutani grumbled, trying to grab at the other man’s backpack, “just lemme put my name on it.”

“Fuck off!” Yahaba laughed, twisting his body to get the backpack away from the blond “Get you own gift, you fuckin’ mooch!”

“Fine” Kyoutani huffed, “It’s lame to get a gift for this shit anyways.”

“Aw come on, you aren’t excited!?”

“Don’t really give a shit either way. If they’re together then they’re together.”

“It’s exciting though! Do you think he’s gonna say yes?”

“Who gives a fuck.”

“I think he totally will. I mean, he’s been hinting at it for so long, it’d be insane if he didn’t.”

“I guess.”

“At least pretend to be excited when we get there?”

“Fuck no.”

“Good point. If you pretended to be excited, they might think you’re some sort of clone.”

“Bite me,” Kyoutani grouched, going to smack Yahaba upside the head and narrowly missing the boy when he ducked.

They walked to the apartment, pausing only briefly outside the door. 

“Knock, jackass,” Kyoutani said, “you're the one that’s so goddamn excited about this.”

Yahaba nodded and knocked on the door. “Remember, he might have gotten sidetracked and not asked yet, so don’t bring it up before he does.”

“I _know_ , I’m not fucking stu-”

They were cut off by Oikawa opening the door. His eyes were red-rimmed and his mouth was pulled down in a frown, but he still looked shocked to see the boys. Kyoutani was stunned. Had he actually said no? Had Iwaizumi forgotten to text them not to come? Why did Oikawa look so damn _sad?_

“What are you boys doing here?” Oikawa asked, his voice gravelly.

The two floundered for a moment, but Yahaba had always been better at thinking on his feet. “We need help with a project for our science class.” Technically this wasn’t a lie. The poster was due in two days, but they hadn’t expected to work on it tonight. 

“Sure. Come on in.” 

They entered, giving each other questioning looks behind Oikawa’s back. 

“Where’s… Iwaizumi?” Kyoutani asked. 

“He’s, umm,” Oikawa started quietly, chewing on a hangnail, “not here. I’m not totally sure. We had a bit of an argument but- that’s not anything you guys need to worry about.” 

Now Kyoutani was honestly a little worried. Oikawa was dramatic and eccentric and as much as they all joked about it, they wouldn’t have him any other way. Watching the subdued way he looked over the papers as Yahaba pulled them out of his bag put the blond on edge. 

Ever since he was a child, he had been attuned to the emotions of people around him. Knowing intuitively whether or not someone was angry had saved his ass countless times, making sure he knew what days to avoid his father completely. He was confident that Oikawa wouldn’t lay a hand on either boy, but his discontent weighed at the bottom of Kyoutani’s stomach like a rock. 

“So this is the topic? The structure of the cell?”

“Yeah, we have to draw and label the cell. It’s more of a poster than a whole project.”

“Sure, I can help with that. I’m not really sure how much I remember, but let me grab my laptop. We can look it up.”

Oikawa went into the bedroom, and Yahaba turned on Kyoutani. “Do you think they fought before Iwaizumi had a chance to ask? What the hell is going on?”

“I don’t know” Kyoutani responded, jumping slightly in his seat when he heard the doorbell ring. “ _Shit_ ” the boys hissed in unison, running slightly to the door. 

“Iwa-” Yahaba started, swinging the door open, his voice dying when instead of Iwaizumi standing on the doorstep, he saw Kuroo, Bokuto, Kenma, and Akaashi. 

“Where are they! Did he say yes!?” Bokuto asked excitedly, but Yahaba shushed him, checking to make sure Oikawa was still in the bedroom. “They got into a fight. Iwaizumi didn’t ask.”

“What!? About what?” Kuroo and Akaashi hissed, exchanging looks. Kenma looked between the four of them, “how are we going to explain why we’re all here?”

“Guys?” Oikawa said, coming out of the bedroom with his computer, “What are you all doing here?” 

“Game night!” Bokuto cried suddenly. The rest looked at him, and he continued, “I feel like we haven’t gotten together in forever! We came over to see if you and Iwaizumi wanted to play some board games.”

The other three nodded resolutely, and Akaashi sent the grey haired man a grateful look, which was returned with a wink. “We also brought booze. None of us wanted to play sober.”

“You brought champagne for a game night?” Oikawa asked suspiciously, eying the two bottles in Kenma’s hands. 

“We had some left over from Christmas,” The red-haired man answered quietly, “and we don’t drink a lot of the stuff.”

“I think we have orange juice,” Oikawa said, “We can do mimosas. We don’t have that many board games though. And the boys are doing a science project.”

“Science project?” Kuroo asked curiously, “can I do anything to help? What’s it on?”

“Fuckin’ nerd” Kenma muttered, pushing his way into the apartment, dropping on the couch and pulling out his game. The boys explained the project to Kuroo, who was more than happy to help them understand the functions of the different organelles and structures in the cell. Bokuto set up one of the few board games, and Akaashi poured drinks. He looked worriedly at Oikawa as the man poured himself a glass that was nearly all champagne. 

“What the hell happened?” Kuroo asked quietly to the two boys. 

“We aren’t sure,” Yahaba replied, “We showed up and it looked like he had been crying. He hasn’t really said anything about it, and we didn’t want to push in case we gave anything away.”

“I texted Iwaizumi, but he didn’t respond.”

They sat in relative silence for a moment, and Bokuto approached. Kyoutani spoke quietly when he saw Oikawa duck into the bedroom for a moment. “It’s weird that he isn’t whining about it, right?”

“Kinda,” Bokuto responded as he dropped into a chair, “He’s always dramatic, except for when he feels _really_ bad. He uses theatrics as a defense mechanism, but sometimes it’s just too much to try and keep up the facade and that’s when we actually get worried.”

“I always forget you’re actually _good_ at this shit.” Kuroo says to Bokuto, who frowns a little. 

“Don’t spend five years in therapy without picking up a few things.” Bokuto said quietly, looking pointedly at his hands. Kuroo nudges his leg with his knee, and the man gives him a sheepish smile. Kyoutani watches the interaction, his eyes then moving to Akaashi, who seemed to be watching the two men as well. The smaller man’s lips quirked up so slightly, it would have been imperceptible if you hadn’t been looking. 

“Okay” Oikawa said, coming out of the bedroom, “Who wants to play?”

Kyoutani heard the desperate, fake cheer in the other man’s voice, and the rock in his stomach became heavier. He wasn’t scared of Oikawa, no, he was simply worried. 

“You’re shaking” Kenma muttered when Oikawa sat down on the couch. 

“I’m cold. Are you guys cold? I can grab blankets,” Oikawa said, standing up. Kenma grabbed the other man’s wrist, holding him in place. “Kenma, I’m just gonna-”

“What’s going on?” Kenma asked, looking the other man in the eyes. Oikawa just eyes the smaller man, pulling his hands free and going to pour himself another glass of champagne. 

“It’s whatever.” Oikawa said, downing half the glass in one go before Akaashi pulled his hand down. 

“Seriously, Tooru. We’re worried.”

This seemed to be the last straw, because Oikawa’s eyes filled with tears. Akaashi removed the cup from the man’s hand and guided him to the couch, where he dropped down and buried his face in his hands. 

Abandoning the science project (which wasn’t making a ton of progress anyways), the other four all crowded around. Bokuto sat next to him, pulling him into his chest, and Kenma took the other man’s hand and played with his fingers in the way that Kuroo always did to him when he got overwhelmed. 

“What _happened_ , Oikawa?” Kuroo asked insistently as the man’s ragged breathing evened out. For all that he was loud and boisterous, he was a shockingly quiet crier, tears sliding down his face as he choked on air. Bokuto rubbed his back soothingly as he tried to compose himself to answer Kuroo. 

Kyoutani bit his lip as he watched Oikawa. He was surprised by the anger boiling in his gut directed to Iwaizumi. He had never had any protective instincts towards anyone other than Yahaba, but watching as the brown-haired man choke on a silent sob, he felt the urge to make him _feel better._

In a burst of confidence, despite his deep aversion of unhappy adults, he reached out to put a lightly trembling hand on Oikawa’s knee. The man’s eyes darted to him, and his hand fell over the blond’s. Taking a deep breath and squeezing Kyoutani’s hand, he started to talk.

“I just… it was just an argument. He’s been acting super weird lately, you know? Very distant and unaffectionate and he’s _never_ like that unless something is wrong. I tried to ignore it but it’s _hard_.”

Bokuto nodded and readjusted so the brown-haired man could rest his head on his shoulder as he continued.

“And I thought to myself ‘ _I’ll give him until our anniversary. If he forgets that, I’ll say something_ ’”

“When’s your anniversary?” Yahaba asked. 

“Today” Oikawa’s face crumpled slightly, and he rubbed a hand over his face. “And it’s not like I really gave a shit about it, you know? I’ve never really given a shit about anniversaries, but it was just that today he was acting really fucking weird and suddenly it hit me.”

The men around him tensed slightly. They had been told that it was supposed to be a surprise. “What do you mean?” Akaashi asked what they were all thinking. 

“I think he wants to break up with me.” Oikawa squeaked out, a new wave of tears flowing out of his eyes. “I wasn’t totally sure, but I thought maybe he just doesn’t want to break up on our anniversary, you know? Maybe he’s waiting. So I sat him down and asked him very maturely whether he wanted to break up, and he totally flipped. I called him out on his shitty behavior and he called me insecure and paranoid and so _I_ flipped. Soon we were just dredging up arguments that we had settled _years_ ago.”

“Why did you think he wanted to break up with you?” Kuroo asked. 

“I mean how many other reasons would he be acting differently? We tell each other everything, so if it had been something at work or with his family then he would’ve said something. That really only leaves one issue, which is us.”

“That doesn’t mean he wants to break up with you. I mean, I act weird, like, all the time,” Bokuto offered, “But it’s just personal stuff.”

“Yeah. I think I was just being insecure, but then I asked him about it and it was like a bomb went off. We were screaming at each other for half an hour. I’m going to have to get the neighbors apology cookies or something.”

“Where is he now? Do you think you guys want to talk about it?”

“He’s probably at the bar. He stormed off at some point. I don’t want to apologize first.”

“Don’t” Kyoutani grunted, cringing as they all turned to look at him. “He acted like an asshole. Let him apologize first.”

Oikawa smiled a little, squeezing the blond’s hand, wary of the weakness of the recently-healed limb. “Thanks, Chihuahua. Sorry about all this. We’re the adults and you guys shouldn’t have to worry about all this shit.”

“It’s okay. I’m used to your dramatic ass at this point,” Kyoutani frowned, but Oikawa just smiled again. 

“I know. It’s just… I want to keep it stable here. For you guys’ sake.”

“Oh please,” Yahaba laughed, though it was strained, “Literally nothing you can do can make it less stable than our lives at home are. And you’re only human. You aren’t perfect.”

Oikawa nodded and wiped his eyes, extracting himself from Bokuto’s side. Akaashi sat on Bokuto’s other side, and the grey-haired man wound an arm around his shoulders. They all jumped a little when the doorbell sounded again. Oikawa’s face hardened, and he stood shakily, the champagne finally hitting him. 

“You ready?” Kenma asked, squeezing Oikawa’s fingers. The man nodded, and went to the door, opening it slowly. 

“Congratulations!” Noya shouted, flinging himself on Oikawa. The other man hugged back lightly, confusion painted across his face. Daichi and Suga looked over them, to the group sitting around the couch. Suga’s eyes widened as he saw Kuroo and Bokuto desperately shaking their heads. Daichi pulled at Noya by the collar, but the boy just pulled Oikawa back by the shoulders. 

“Sorry we’re late. Suga ended up having to remake the cake. Who knew that baking powder and baking soda weren’t interchangeable, you know?”

“You work in a bakery, moron,” Suga hissed, “also _read the room_.”

“What cake?” Oikawa asked, “What’s going on?”

“Oh fuck” Noya’s eyes widened, “Did you say no!? Why didn’t he text us!?”

“Noya _shush,”_ Daichi insisted. “What’s going on.”

“Mission failure” Kenma spoke up, “The enemy was unaware of the operation and agent X has gone rogue without completing the task. Discretion is key until the agent has returned to finish the assignment.”

Daichi and Suga’s brows furrowed, but Noya straightened immediately. Clearly all the nights those two had spent playing two person shooter games had paid off. “Roger that captain. Oikawa, we had extra cake at the bakery and we wanted to see-”

“No _screw that_ !” Oikawa said, “What the _fuck_ is going on? Why are you all here?” 

“Where’s Iwaizumi? He’s the one that asked us all to come over,” Daichi said. Suga nodded, rolling his eyes when Kuroo and Bokuto resumed their head-shaking. 

“He’s at the bar. We had a huge fight and… why did he ask you all to come over?”

Suga walked over to place the cake lightly on the table, pulling the cover off. “He asked us to come over so we could deliver this.”

Oikawa looked at the cake, and the color drained out of his face. He raised a shaking hand to his forehead, massaging his temple lightly. The rest of the men from the couch all got up to see the cake. It was a beautiful white cake with a large ring frosted on as well as some swirly lettering. 

_Congratulations on Your Engagement._

“He… ordered this? How long ago?”

“A couple of weeks.” 

“Yeah…” Akaashi added, “He asked all of us to come over a while ago. We brought the champagne… obviously.”

“Us too” Yahaba nodded, “Although we didn’t bring anything” 

“He knew I would’ve wanted you guys here,” Oikawa muttered absent mindedly, his eyes not leaving the cake. Kyoutani flushed at his words, exchanging a look with Yahaba. 

“So that’s why he was acting weird?” Oikawa asked quietly. “He was gonna propose?” 

Daichi nodded, and drew the other man into a hug when a fresh wave of tears poured. “I accused him of trying to _break up with me_!” 

Daichi shushed him and rubbed his back. Anyone who had ever been on the receiving end of Daichi’s dad hugs knew they had special healing ability, and Oikawa only cried for a minute or so before he took a deep breath and pulled back. “What do I do now? I have to ask him about it.”

“Don’t apologize first. He fucked up.” Kyoutani reminded him quietly. Oikawa bit his lip, but smiled ever so subtly. 

“Fuck an apology, we can worry about that later. I was supposed to be getting engaged tonight, and I’m getting a proper proposal, goddammit!” 

The man marched into the bedroom, and they heard rustling. 

“Nice going, Noya” Kuroo cuffed the shorter man upside the head, but Suga batted his hand away. 

“The truth was going to come out eventually. He’s not dumb enough to believe all of us are here by coincidence.”

Kuroo nodded reluctantly, but Kyoutani was still upset. Oikawa deserved a proper apology before any sort of proposal, and Nishinyoa had ruined that. An idea came to mind. 

“Hey Nishinoya” the small blond turned to the man, who looked back in return, “How’s Daichi’s sister doing? Are you two still talking?” 

Suga’s eyes bulged and Noya's eyes widened. Daichi turned towards the smaller man, but before he could say anything, a muffled ‘ _Aha!’_ came out of the bedroom. Oikawa reappeared in the doorway, a small box in hand. 

“He says _I’m_ shitty at hiding things. At least my hiding spots are creative. Sock drawers are _so_ 1980.”

“Sock drawer?” Akaashi’s eyebrows shot up, “was he even _trying_ to hide it?”

Oikawa shrugs. “I’m going to find him. I want an explanation, and apology, and a _fucking proposal_.”

Kyoutani would’ve normally mocked the man for the dramatic tirade, but he was more happy that the man looked far more alive than he had a few hours ago. The light had returned to his eyes, even if they were still red and puffy. 

“Do you know where he is?” Suga asked. Oikawa turned to Bokuto and Akaashi.

“What’s the name of that bar you guys go to?”

“The one by our apartment?” Akaashi responded, “Nightcap?”

“Sure. He always ends up there when we fight. Apparently the drinks suck but are cheap.”

“Dirt cheap, god bless.” Bokuto muttered to nobody in particular, and Oikawa pulled his jacket on. The brown-haired man stopped briefly, eyeing the group of men surrounding his kitchen table.

“You guys can probably go home. I’m sorry for making you all deal with this shit.”

“Are you joking?” Suga said, putting the cover back on the cake, “There’s no way we’re missing this.”

The rest nodded, pulling their own various layers of outerwear back on. It was early April, but it was still freezing cold this late at night. 

“The bar’s in a pretty shitty neighborhood. We’re on protection detail.” Bokuto spoke up, while Daichi and Kuroo nodded. 

“I can defend myself, you dopes. Just because I work in an office doesn’t mean I lost muscle tone after highschool” Oikawa’s lips curled. The three men shrugged, still pulling their boots on regardless. 

“I just want to watch,” Yahaba said quietly, and Oikawa looked at him, smiling. 

“You two are welcome to come along, obviously.”

“Good luck getting rid of the rest of us, we’re invested by now.” Kenma added, “I happen to be in the mood for a totally unrelated, large cheap drink. How about you guys?” 

The rest nodded and agreed, and Oikawa looked up momentarily. “Fine, you clingy bastards can all come. Just don’t interrupt.”

They all left the apartment and set out down the street. Oikawa walked at the front, Akaashi and Bokuto with him to give directions. The rest were staggered behind them on the sidewalk, walking briskly to keep up. 

“Well this is certainly a turn of events” Yahaba said, leaning over to Kyoutani. Kyoutani nodded. 

“It’s a fuckin’ ordeal is what it is. I wasn’t expecting this much action.”

“Don’t pretend you aren’t excited. My stomach is full of butterflies and I’m not even the one getting proposed to.”

“Don’t be dramatic. They’re still gonna be the same jackasses they always have been.”

“Yeah but they might get _married_.”

“You and I both know that people getting married doesn’t mean they’re gonna be happy. No need to get stupidly optimistic about it all.” 

Yahaba deflated slightly and walked ahead. Kyotuani took a second to look at the boy's profile. The chill in the air was turning his cheeks and nose red, and his hair was fluttering messily in the wind, the purple split dye beginning to fade to a dark maroon color. Kyoutani bit his lip, but guilt lodged in his throat. 

He didn’t apologize, but he pulled his hand out of his own pocket and stuck it in Yahaba, interlocking their fingers. Anger was his gut reaction at nearly all times, and even if Yahaba knew that, he didn’t deserve to constantly be on the receiving end of Kyoutani’s aggression. 

Judging by the small smile and rushing flush on Yahaba’s already red cheeks, he got the message. 

Kenma and Noya seemed to be in a playful argument about one of the games they played together, even if Noya was much louder about it. Suga, Daichi, Kuroo, and Akaashi were talking, and Bokuto was still up at the front, talking with Oikawa. 

“I’m happy… for them,” Kyoutani said quietly, and Yahaba squeezed his hand. 

Finally, the group all stood in front of a dingy bar, whose yellow lights emitted a warm glow from inside the building. 

“Are you ready for this?” Akaashi asked quietly, slipping forwards and taking the place on Bokuto’s other side. Bokuto grabbed the smaller man’s hand, and Akaashi leaned into his side. 

“Yeah” Oikawa said, taking a deep breath, “I’m just a little nervous.”

“This might be the most convoluted proposal I’ve ever seen,” Daichi laughed. 

“I’m not proposing,” Oikawa clarified, “I’m simply facilitating it.”

“I don’t think you’re supposed to facilitate your _own_ proposal,” Daichi added. 

“Well,” Akaashi tilted his head towards the boys, “You’re also not supposed to adopt kids before you get married. Convention isn’t really their thing.” 

Kyoutani felt himself bristle slightly at Akaashi’s comment, ignoring the way the stone in his stomach dissolved slightly at the words. He ignored his nerves and stepped forwards, placing a hand on Oikawa’s shoulder. “You got this.”

Oikawa smiled, and his eyes filled with tears again. He pulled the boy into a hug, and Kyoutani grimaced, but placed his hand lightly on the man’s back. “ _Chihuahua!_ You can’t make me cry like this. _”_

“Whatever,” Kyoutani rolled his eyes, “go get gross and mushy.”

Oikawa nodded, and swung the door open, stomping inside. The rest followed, pouring into the bar like the world’s most awkward entourage. Iwaizumi was sitting at the bar, head hung over a half full glass of beer and talking to the bartender, a woman with short green hair and a sympathetic look in her eyes. 

His head raised at the noise, and his eyes widened as they fell on Oikawa. They opened ever wider when he laid eyes on the group of people hanging awkwardly behind him. “Oh shit,” he muttered, eyes scanning the angry looks in the small group. 

“Oh shit is _right_ , Hajime.” Oikawa said, approaching him. “Were you-”

“I’m so fucking sorry Tooru.” Iwaizumi said, a heavy slur evident in his tone. “I just… I’ve had a lot on my mind and I didn’t mean to take any of it out on you. You deserve better than that and I just freaked out when you brought up breaking up because I thought you might be hinting that you wanted to dump _me_ and I couldn’t deal with that, so I blew up and I’m _sorry_.”

“Oh…” Oikawa blinked, clearly not expecting an apology so quickly. 

“I understand you're pissed at me and I just want you to know that I love you _so_ much and I don’t want to break up with you at all… and I really hope that you don’t want to break up with me.” 

Oikawa stared at him for a moment. “That was very eloquent for a man that smells like he bathed in beer.”

“Yeah,” the bartender spoke up, “He’s been practicing that all night long. He asked me to pretend to be you and we’ve been practicing for like twenty fucking minutes.” Despite her harsh tone, the green-haired woman looked very relieved that the apology had gone well. 

“Hajime.” Oikawa said as the rest of his anger left him. “Were you going to propose to me tonight?”

“Yeah. I’m- that’s why I’ve been acting so weird… I’ve been really fucking nervous about it… and then I was so nervous that I forgot it was out anniversary, which is ridiculous because the reason I did it today was-”

“Why didn’t you _say anything_?” Oikawa insisted, leaning on the bar next to the man, and stealing a sip of his beer. 

“Well I didn’t want you to think I was only proposing to get out of the argument, you know? I didn’t want you to look back after and wonder if I had only proposed to stop the fight, or whatever. I wanted it to be special, not some sort of cop out.”

“That’s… shockingly thoughtful,” Oikawa smiled, “I definitely would have worried about it. Too bad you forgot to text everyone and cancel the party.”

“Yeah,” Iwaizumi said, turning towards the group, “I’m sorry guys, that’s my bad.”

“It’s okay,” Kuroo called back, “This is like a free movie.”

“Yeah. We didn’t want to miss this” Yahaba hollered, causing the bartender to turn around. 

“Wait, is that a kid?” She cut in, “You aren’t allowed to bring kids-”

“Well,” Oikawa cut her off, “I want a proposal. I want the speech and the ring and the kiss. Suga brought the cake and I’m sure we can get champagne here. It might not be what you pictured, but that’s fine… if you still want to do it, of cour-”

“Yeah!” Iwaizumi nodded vehemently, “I still want to, but I don’t have the ring.”

Oikawa smiled, and pulled the ring out of his pocket, sliding it towards the other man. “You need to find better hiding spots, Iwa-chan.”

Iwaizumi waved a hand, opening the box and turning to the other man. “Oikawa, I-”

“Wait!” Oikawa squeaked, “Get on one knee! What kind of half-assed proposal is this!?”

Iwaizumi returned his look with a sheepish smile, standing up from the stool. Kneeling down, he got halfway, before falling over sideways. “Sorry, dizzy.”

“He’s had a lot” the bartender nodded, but Iwaizumi waved her comment away, finally balancing on one knee and looking up at Oikawa. 

“Oikawa Tooru, you are literally the opposite of me in every possible way. You’re melodramatic and loud and picky and can be kind of difficult-”

“Haji-”

“-and you're also the only person on earth I can picture spending the rest of my life with. You’re kind and generous and you care about people when you don’t have to and you call me out when I’m being a huge dick. You know me better than I know myself. You… I know it’s cheesy but you’re the only person I _always_ want to talk to. When something happens, I try to stop myself from texting you because I don’t want to seem clingy but then I pull out my phone and you’ve already texted me so I can just bring it up without annoying you.”

At this point, Oikawa had tears pooling in his eyes, as did Bokuto and Daichi. Kenma and Kyoutani were fighting down smiles. Hajime had tears in his eyes too, but nobody that valued their lives would ever bring it up. 

“I- I know I make fun of you for being overbearing, but I need it more than anything. I get quiet and in my head and sometimes I lay in bed after work and just wait for you to come home and lie on top of me, because talking about it feels too hard and you know how to make me feel better without saying a thing. It’s like you were born with natural ability to read my fucking mind, and I wasn’t born with one to read yours, so the best I can do is cook you dinner when you’re out late and paint the cabinets a color you like and hope to god that you never find someone else that you want to lie on top of like a human-sized octopus.”

“You idiot” Oikawa chokes out, tears now falling down his cheeks, “I don’t need you to read my mind. Clearly I’m not that good of a mind reader, considering I thought you were gonna dump me.”

“It’s not that it’s… you always know when I didn’t sleep well, or when I’ve just gotten into a fight with my dad, or when I had a particularly shitty day at work. It’s like you were born already knowing me, and our whole lives together had been me trying to figure you out in return. And I really fuckin’ like figuring you out. I- I want to do it forever. Marry me, Tooru?” 

Oikawa laughed wetly, and pulled the other man up, grabbing him into a massive bear hug and burying his face in Iwaizumi’s shoulder. Iwaizumi pulled back, clumsily taking the other man’s chin and kissing him deeply. Their entire group applauded, the rest of the bar joining in. Oikawa flipped Noya the bird when the smaller man wolf whistled, and Iwaizumi slipped the ring onto Oikawa’s shaking finger. 

Oikawa had been ‘casually’ bringing up his ring size every time they passed the jewelry store in the mall for nearly three months. It wasn’t subtle, and it sure as _hell_ wasn’t casual, but it was okay because the ring fit perfectly and the man seemed to have no shame to speak of. 

“I’m glad they settled it.” Kenma said.

“Yeah,’ Akaashi nodded as Bokuto put an arm around the smaller man and drew him in, “this went shockingly well.”

“I guess, considering how dumb the two of them are.” Kyoutani muttered, but Suga merely ruffled his hair. 

“Try and tone down the enthusiasm, kid. Your smile might blind an innocent bystander.”

“Bite me-”

“Who wants cake!” Suga called out, putting it down on a nearby table. The group all grabbed paper plates and ignored the fiancees, who were now sloppily making out against the bar, much to the bartender’s chagrin. 

“This is good,” Yahaba told Suga, who smiled in return. 

“Yeah, no thanks to my dipshit employee. Please turn sixteen sooner so I can hire you instead.”

“Yeah Noya, wait,” Daichi said, turning to the man, “What was Kyoutani saying about you talking to my sister?”

Noya’s face went pale as he spluttered. “Well… I mean… Let’s focus on Oikawa and Iwaizumi tonight! Yeah! We can talk about that later… or not at all!” 

“Oh we will be,” Daichi eyed him. Suga pulled the other man away. 

“Please hold off on maiming my employee until Yahaba’s old enough to hire.”

Daichi rolled his eyes, and turned back to the couple. “ _Stop making out and come get cake, you horny assholes_!” He hollered. 

Oikawa turned to the bartender. “Champagne for everyone, please. Except him, he’s had enough. And coke or something for the kids.”

“Kids shouldn’t be in here in the first damn place,” she grumbled, fetching glasses to pour the drinks anyways. 

Once everyone had a glass in hand, Iwaizumi wandered unsteadily to the jukebox, which looked like it had legitimately been there since jukeboxes were new technology. Something old and slow started playing. Oikawa rolled his eyes, but smothered a smile nonetheless as Iwaizumi grabbed him by the waist (even if it was primarily to keep his own balance). 

Daichi and Suga were slow dancing properly, and Bokuto and Akaashi were doing some botched version of it. Kenma swatted Kuroo’s hands away everytime the man tried to dance, so Kuroo settled with standing behind Kenma, chin resting on his head and arms around his waist from the back. 

Kyoutani and Yahaba were content to sit in the barstools, sipping their non-alcoholic drinks and watching as the group of grown men slowly descended into inebriation. Bokuto desperately wanted to show off something that he had learned in a salsa class he had taken (which… huh?), but Akaashi refused and the man grabbed Daichi’s wrist instead. 

Faced with the loss of his dance partner, Suga grabbed Yahaba off the sidelines and proceeded to absolutely eclipse Bokuto in terms of salsa moves (which also… huh?). Oikawa chatted with Akaashi and Iwaizumi made his way over to the empty barstool next to the blond. 

“I’m sorry for not texting you guys. I wasn’t thinking about it.”

“It looks like it all worked out,” Kyoutani shrugged. Iwaizumi nodded in agreement, watching as the brown-haired man talked excitedly with a soft smile on his face. 

“I’m lucky. It could’ve gone way, way worse,” Iwaizumi frowned, the alcohol loosening his lips and letting him admit to stuff like this that he normally wouldn’t. 

“I’m not… an expert” the blond said quietly, “but you two are good together. It would’ve worked out anyway. Somehow.”

Iwaizumi turned to the blond, his brows furrowed, before relaxing. “Thanks, kid. That’s… really nice. Surprisingly.”

“Fuck off” the blond muttered, a small smile on his face nonetheless. “Just don’t fuck it up too badly.”

“ _Chihuahua!”_ Kyoutani heard Oikawa call out from across the bar, “ _Suga’s teaching me salsa! Let me dip you!”_

“Not on your fuckin’ life, asshole!” Kyoutani called out fiercely. 

Clearly he wasn’t fierce enough, because he was being spun and dipped when the bartender called out the last round, an apologetic look on her face. They all thanked her profusely, even giving her a piece of cake before stumbling out into the cold. The city was never quiet, but it was more peaceful than usual as they loudly clambered through the streets, slowly losing people as they passed streets and buildings. Soon, it was just the four piling into the apartment and pulling off various layers of clothing. 

“I’m taking a shower,” Iwaizumi announced, “I smell like beer” 

“Agreed,” Oikawa nodded, “I’m not going to bed with a brewery. I’m going to bed with a _fiancee_.”

Kyoutani loudly gagged when Iwaizumi pulled the other man in for a kiss, and the two scoffed. “Give us a break, Chihuahua, damn. We just got engaged.”

“I know. I had to witness his nasty, mushy speech. Don’t make me watch this too.”

“Fine,” Oikawa said, pushing Iwaizumi towards the bathroom.

“It was nice,” Yahaba said, pinching Kyoutani’s side. 

“ _Thank_ you, Yahaba. At least one of you fuckers enjoyed it. Now I can rope you into helping to plan the wedding.” 

“No more free labor for you assholes,” Kyoutani grouched. 

“Wasn’t talking’ to you blondie,” Oikawa grinned cheekily, “We all remember the cupcake incident. Although dicks might be a big subtextual theme at my wedding, I don’t need it for the decor.”

Yahaba laughed, and Kyotuani huffed, stomping towards the bedroom, stopped by a hand grabbing the back of his shirt. He tensed momentarily, but relaxed when he felt warm arms wrap around him. “Thanks for coming. I’m glad you were a part of it” Oikawa muttered into Kyoutani’s hair. Kyoutani didn’t say anything, choosing instead to lightly pat the older man’s hand. 

“Didn’t have much of a choice. Congratulations, or whatever.”

Oikawa smiled and hugged Yahaba with similar kind, partially sober words, before disappearing into the bedroom. The boys went to the guest bedroom and changed into some of the pajamas that they had been keeping there for a few weeks now.

“Admit it,” Yahaba whispered as they crawled into the bed, “you’re glad you were a part of it.”

“Fine. I’m glad I got to be a part of the asshole’s shitty proposal.”

“Oh god!” Yahaba whisper-shouted, sitting up a little, “I forgot to give the the present!”

“Do it tomorrow. Go to bed.” Kyoutani said, pulling the boy back down. Yahaba nodded, and it was silent for a minute before he spoke up again. 

“Now think about how much of a nightmare Oikawa is going to be about planning the wedding.”

“Jesus Christ. Go to bed, Shigeru.”

“Night, Kentaro”

“ _Goodnight._ ”

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhh there it is! I've been so so excited to write this one since I started this series and honestly I'm pretty happy with it. I don't write a lot of big monologue stuff like the proposal, so hopefully it wasn't terrible. I know some of you guys have been waiting on the proposal so hopefully I lived up to expectations :))
> 
> Thank you for reading!  
> -V


End file.
